Delacorte Theater

Upper West Side & Central Park


Every summer the Public Theater heads here to present its fabulous free productions of Shakespeare in the Park, which founder Joseph Papp began back in 1954, before the lovely, leafy, open-air theater was even built. Productions are usually superb and it's a magical experience: waiting in line for tickets is a rite of passage for newcomers to the city.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Upper West Side & Central Park attractions

1. Great Lawn

0.11 MILES

Located between 79th and 85th Sts, this massive emerald carpet at the center of Central Park is many a New Yorker's unofficial backyard. Created in 1931…

2. Central Park

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One of the world’s most renowned green spaces, Central Park comprises 843 acres of rolling meadows, boulder-studded outcroppings, elm-lined walkways,…

3. Ramble

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In Central Park, between 73rd and 78th Sts, the leafy 38-acre Ramble is a wooded thicket that’s popular with bird-watchers. It's easy to lose your way in…

4. New-York Historical Society

0.27 MILES

As the antiquated hyphenated name implies, the Historical Society is the city’s oldest museum, founded in 1804 to preserve historical and cultural…

5. American Museum of Natural History

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Founded back in 1869, this venerable museum contains a veritable wonderland of more than 34 million objects, specimens and artifacts – including armies of…

6. Metropolitan Museum of Art

0.34 MILES

What started with a handful of paintings brought over from Europe or donated by a coterie of philanthropically minded robber barons in the 19th century…

7. Strawberry Fields

0.4 MILES

Standing inside the park across from the famous Dakota Building, where John Lennon was fatally shot in 1980, is this poignant, tear-shaped garden – a…

8. Bethesda Fountain

0.43 MILES

This neoclassical fountain is one of New York’s largest. It’s capped by the Angel of the Waters, who is supported by four cherubim. The fountain, created…